Feb 18 Danny Garcia stops Brandon Rios in Nine

Danny “Swift” Garcia (34-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (34-4-1, 25 KOs) in the 9th round, live from The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rios came into the fight hungrier than ever trying to make a statement on how he was not just going to be a walk in the park for Garcia. He had just beaten Aaron “La Joya” Herrera (33-8-1, 22 KOs) by TKO 8 months prior. Before that, Rios had taken a year and a half off after losing to Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs).

From the beginning, the fight was fought at a fast pace, with Rios staying in front of Garcia and applying pressure throughout the whole fight. Rios landed a lot of big wild shots that landed cleanly on Garcia. Garcia would respond with hard, sharp punches. Rios constant pressure and improved conditioning were significant factors in this fight, and they were what continuously let him land big shots. The conditioning in Rios showed after fighting at the same pace in the later rounds. Garcia was always being backed up, but he would counter with hard punches and find ways to land combinations on Rios. Rios was making this a closer fight than expected.

In the 9th round, the fight was still competitive with both fighters not taking any breaks and both coming forward. Rios threw a jab that missed, and Garcia countered with a hard straight hand that sent Rios on to the canvas. Rios was very hurt but still managed to get up, Referee Kenny Bayless noticed Rios stumbling and stopped the fight.

Both of the fighters went toe to toe from the beginning, but it was Garcia who got the better end of it. Rios put up a competitive fight and said: “In my heart, I was above on points.”

Now, Garcia moves on to better things and has many options on whom he can fight next. He can face “Showtime” Shawn Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs) who after the fight came into the ring and had a heated exchange with Garcia. Garcia also has the option to face Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr (23-0, 20 KOs) who called Garcia out through social media and even a rematch with Keith “One Time” Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) for the WBA and WBC titles.